They work tirelessly all day under the harsh rays of a blazing sun, the stench of death and destruction around them. They are a team of Jewish heroes who are working around the clock with one mission: the recovery of human bodies.

The SA Friends of the Beit Halochem Zahal Disabled Veterans Organisation was established in Johannesburg in 1982, its primary goal being to help and support Zahal disabled veterans by raising funds to help them return and resume their normal lives as soon as possible.

There’s a popular weekly satirical show in Israel called Eretz Nehederet. In a recent episode, an actor playing Benny Gantz, the former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and newcomer to Israeli politics, is asked how he’s feeling.

Devotion to the cause of the State of Israel flourishes in the most unlikely places, even in societies where the Jewish presence is small to non-existent. Such is the case in Mozambique, where the work of Beth-El Associacao Crista Amigos De Israel - Mozambican Christian Friends of Israel - testifies to how much can be achieved by those inspired by their Christian faith to promote the Israeli cause, despite adverse conditions.

JNF’s unique “Blue Boy Box” now lives at King David Linksfield Pre-Primary so that children of each generation learn the importance of tzedakah (charity or welfare). It is the responsibility of Jews all over the world to build Israel, develop it and nurture it as the home of the Jewish nation

“Knowledge is Light” was our school motto when I was a child in Durban. The importance of education was made clear to us from as far back as I can remember. It wasn’t taken for granted. A good education was a privilege.

(JTA) Norwegian rapper not charged with hate speech
A Norwegian rapper who cursed Jews while performing at an event in Oslo promoting multiculturalism will not be charged with hate speech, because his words may have been criticism of Israel, prosecutors said.

Did Israeli soldiers violate international law by deliberately targeting unarmed children, journalists, health workers, and people with disabilities during the past year of violence along the Israel-Gaza border?

(JTA) After the New England Patriots beat the favoured Kansas City Chiefs to reach their third straight Super Bowl – their amazing ninth in less than 20 years – CBS sports analyst Boomer Esiason made an intriguing statement, namely that Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

We are winging our way towards Human Rights Day (21 March), the first public holiday of the year, which coincides with Purim. I can’t help but wonder about our concept of human rights and what it means, not least of all, to our government.

President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed in parliament last week that South Africa intended to downgrade its diplomatic presence in Israel. The foreign affairs bureaucracy was working “feverishly” on the matter. “The decision to downgrade the embassy in Israel is informed precisely by the violation of the rights of Palestinians and we are therefore putting pressure on Israel. But at the same time, we are saying we are willing to play a role and ensure there is peace,” said Ramaphosa.

Undeterred, and in spite of the hate-filled disparagement that spewed forth when Shashi Naidoo uttered positive comments about Israel and Jews last year, Haafizah Bhamjee penned a reasoned and sensible article on Israel and the Palestinians in the SA Jewish Report of 22 February.

With Prince William’s historic visit to Israel this week, all eyes have been trained on the Jewish capital. It may have taken 70 years, but the first official visit by a member of the British Royal family began in Israel on Monday, when William, the Duke of Cambridge, arrived in Tel Aviv.

Some 5 600 emissaries (shluchim) from Chabad-Lubavitch from all over the world gathered at the Pier 8 warehouse in Brooklyn, New York this week for the opening of their four-day annual international conference and banquet, 75 years after the arrival of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, from Europe.

One of the questions that haunts the story of Purim and moves silently through the lines of the Megillah is clear and chillingly simple: How could Jews have chosen to remain in Persian Shushan? It was so clearly an environment in which anti-Semitism was so prevalent that a genocide could be planned and almost implemented without comment by broader society.

“The greatness of our nation is that our people are great. We are a nation of heroes, of people with good and decent moral fibre who will not tolerate our country being plundered!” So said Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein in Pretoria this morning.“This is a struggle for accountability and justice,” Goldstein told the crowd (which included prominent Jewish CEOs like Adrian Gore, Stephen Koseff and Michael Katz). “This struggle is about sovereignty. The power of the people always triumphs in the end.”

Menorah miracle lights up endless debate

Chanukah! Can you smell the latkes? Can you hear the faint echoes of Moaz Tzur? Do your fingers already feel a little slippery in anticipation of the impossible-to-remove olive oil? (Or hot from candle wax, if that’s your vibe!)

by
Rabbi Sam Thurgood, Beit Midrash Morasha | Nov 29, 2018

On Chanukah, we do all of the good Jewish things: celebrate the victory of light over darkness, spend time together in family and community (eating), publicise Hashem’s miracles, and give one hundred involved and complicated answers to a single question!

The question I am referring to is, “Why do we light the candles for eight nights?” Now, lest you respond, “Um, because the miracle was for eight nights?” the question in its fuller form is, “Since there was enough oil to last for only one night, and miraculously Hashem made it last for eight nights, it seems that the first night was not miraculous, only the subsequent seven were. So if we’re lighting to celebrate the miracle, shouldn’t we light for only seven nights?”

Before sharing some answers with you, I want to point out some attitudes towards Torah learning. Torah is serious business – as we say in the blessings before the Shema each evening, “For they [the words of Torah] are our life and the length of our days.” Torah gives structure and meaning to our lives, regulates societies, and makes the entire world a more fitting home for G-d, therefore fulfilling the ultimate purpose of creation, but it’s also a joy and delectable treat.

King David in Tehillim/Psalms 119:92 calls Torah “my delight” and throughout history, our great Torah scholars have experienced Torah as both a duty and a pleasure. Rabbi Avraham Tanzer tells the story of Rabbi Mordechai Gifter, the Rosh Yeshiva of Telshe Yeshiva in Cleveland, who found himself with a guest who was an accomplished and erudite scholar. Rabbi Gifter excitedly called one of his students: “Hey, we have a Talmid chochom here, and we’re talking Torah! Come on over and have some fun!” So in answering this question, our sages were not only trying to solve a centuries-old conundrum, but to bring new light to Chanukah through creative exploration of the topic.

“So, nu?” I can hear you ask, “what are the answers?” Well, I’ll share a selection with you.

The first night of Chanukah is a celebration of the military victory of the Maccabees, and the miracle of finding even the single jug of oil to begin with. (Meiri)

Each night, the amount of oil that was consumed was only an eighth of what should have been, thus the miracle began from the first moment. (Beit Yosef)

The Greeks waged war on Judaism, which they symbolised by the brit milah (bris). In celebration of our victory, we celebrated for eight days, just as with a bris. (Ba’al HaIttim)

They used very thin, small wicks to conserve oil; nonetheless it burned brighter and more beautifully than ever. (Chiddushei HaRim)